


you pull the blackout curtains down

by Anonymous



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, POV Outsider, set some time after season 7, this was supposed to be sheith being annoyingly love-sick neighbours but it got kinda angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-28 02:36:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16714951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Shiro and Keith aren't bad neighbours, exactly. But some would argue that they just aren't unobtrusive enough.





	you pull the blackout curtains down

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time doing anything like this, and I'm really nervous. My writing needs a lot of work, so I apologize for any errors you may find, especially regarding tenses.

Objectively, the noise coming from apartment 304 isn’t something that Ellen can complain to the landlord about. Her main source of irritation arises from the fact that the apartment’s inhabitants do seem to be reaching for a level of unobtrusiveness – and yet, she hears so much. A “Honey, I’m home!” that isn’t sarcastic enough for her. Voices tripping over each other in excitement and a moment of blessed silence until – dear Lord, she can _hear_ them smile. There are off-key and eventually hushed renditions of songs that apparently necessitate ridiculous mimicries of electric guitar. All too often do they dissolve into obnoxiously warm laughter. Occasionally, she hears the harsh scrape of furniture being moved, lilting music, and the soft sigh of socked feet gliding across the wooden floor. 

Once, in a medicine-addled bout of generosity, she tells herself that they’re _young_ and in _love_ , and anyway, she isn’t doing herself any favors by reinforcing stereotypes about the bitter old spinster. Then, in a moment of magnificent unfairness on the part of the universe, she hears a joyful bark and the scuff of paws against her door. Time stills. 

“Cosmo! No, don’t be rude! Shh, come away boy. Remember what Shiro said about, uh, fostering a good environment with the neighbors...”

_Cosmo_ , she thinks incredulous. Then, _this bitter old spinster will stay_. 

*  
For all that she hears, Ellen doesn’t actually see them often. They keep strange hours and her memory is not what it used to be. And yet her impressions of them cannot quite be called fleeting, which is slightly unnerving. A pale head bent toward a shorter man with dark hair while a large hand thumbs the nape of the latter’s neck. Fluid strides and hands insistent on leaving as little distance between them as possible. Separate of each other, she knows one to have an imposing stature and a harsh jawline belied by an earnest smile and kind grey eyes. Somehow, she knows he has a powerful voice although they’ve never spoken. She knows the other to have blue eyes obscured by hair that desperately needs cutting and an awkward shuffle accompanying his solemn offer to carry her groceries. Reflecting on this, she admits that they could be endearing, if not for the cacophonous clanging of utensils currently coming from apartment 304; loudly proclaiming the inhabitant’s unfamiliarity with the kitchen. She sighs. The elevator is out of commission, but she figures now is as good a time as any to visit the market. 

Ellen reaches the top of the stairs when she registers the _thump_ of the bigger one - _Shiro_ , her mind supplies- bounding up the stairs taking two steps at a time, his hand dwarfing a sprig of violets. _Hm, I suppose it does match the other one’s eyes_ , she thinks, and immediately perishes the thought. Shiro freezes guiltily upon seeing her and offers up a shy smile. She tamps down on an answering smile and instead deigns to impart a derisive snort. _Don’t they know there’s a war going on?_

She makes her way down the stairs with a pointed delicacy. 

*  
She is halfway down the stairs when she figures out why she knows that this _Shiro_ has a powerful voice. _What are the so-called ‘Defenders of the Universe’ doing in a dingy old apartment building like this one?_

“What are the so-called ‘Defenders of the Universe’ doing in a dingy old apartment building like this one?” Her bluntness is a boon afforded to her by her old age. 

Shiro turns to her from the top of the stairs, his spine straightened, and says, “It’s just convenient for us, is all. And we appreciate the anonymity, of course.”  


His voice is carefully measured. He had evidently anticipated her question long before she had even thought to ask it. When weighed alongside the shadows under his eyes, his politeness seems almost painful. 

“Of course,” She says. And, “I hope you dance better than you sing.”

She leaves him with his jaw working uselessly and a blush clambering to the tips of his ears and tries not to think about how achingly young they are. She supposes the little haven they’d so lovingly carved out for themselves _did_ have a desperate tinge to it. 

*  
_Shiro isn’t in their shared room. They haven’t seen much of each other for the past three weeks, what with Keith focusing on training with the paladins and Shiro stuck wrangling fearful politicians. The constant downpour hasn’t helped. Rather, it seems to have seeped into their very beings. The last time Keith had caught a glimpse of Shiro, he had been surrounded by a pack of Admiral Sanda’s cohorts and was wearing a smile like a band-aid._

_His current absence is a familiar ache. More so because Keith knows exactly where he is. As he grabs an umbrella, he hopes he might also know how to fix this._

_He finds Shiro sitting on a raised platform with his back turned to Keith and the memorial wall looming over him, as dismissive of the rain as only bone-tired people can be._

_His mind made up, Keith makes his way to Shiro with deliberately loud footsteps and holds the umbrella over him._

_Sitting gingerly next to him, he takes a deep breath and says, “I think…I think we should look for a place. Outside the Garrison.” He pauses, “Not too far, of course. We’d be easy to reach if we were needed in a hurry. I know we’ll end up spending most of our time working here anyway, but I think it’ll be good for us. It’s up to you obviously, I don’t want to-"_

_“Keith,” Shiro interrupts, “I hope you’re a better cook than I am.”_

_He isn’t smiling – not yet. But his eyes have gentled, and his brows have lost their furrow as he finally looks at Keith, and that’s enough for now._

_Keith fixes his gaze straight ahead and murmurs, “Well, you know I’m not that much better than you are. But we could take a cooking class together. When this is all over.”_

_It’s one of Shiro’s most treasured memories, that offer. In all its deceptive mundanity and quiet brazenness. He realizes then that when faced with the warmth of Keith by his side and his tremulous smile, he could no longer pretend to keep the hope that they would survive Haggar's oncoming attack at arm’s length. He tugs Keith closer and tucks his head into the crook of Keith’s neck._

_“Sure, we can,” He says, and presses a kiss to the wing of Keith’s collarbone_.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeeeah, this ended up being about them wanting to take a leap and live their life as fully as possible in a very precarious and ominous situation. Well, at least, I hope that came through.  
> I know Kosmo is spelled with a K, but Ellen isn't privy to this information, and good for her.  
> I don't actually remember the geography near the memorial wall, but for the purposes of this fic, it's outside.  
> The title is from Immortals by Fall Out Boy.  
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
